


an apology

by keeks414



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Friendship, Gen, How Do I Tag, Platonic Relationships, bcus lbr he was an ass and he should apologize, chapter 1 is just dustin and mike talking, chapter 2 will be mike apologizing to max, pretty sure you can see when i lost inspiration
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 17:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12611408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keeks414/pseuds/keeks414
Summary: Dustin thinks Mike has an apology to make and Mike is bad at feelings.





	an apology

**Author's Note:**

> basically, i think max and mike could have a nice friendship but he should apologize for being a dick in s2

Contrary to popular belief, Mike knew when he fucked up. The thing was, there was nothing he hated more than admitting he was wrong, even just to himself.

He knew he could be an asshole, that sometimes he lashed out at wrong people and because of some things that weren't considered a big deal. Lucas often joked about him being a drama queen. Dustin, after years of dealing with Mike and his all-over-the-place emotions, said he had anger issues. So for some reason Dustin decided that it was his duty to complain about Mike's inability to process his feelings. 

"You sound like my mom," was what he usually got as an answer. Dustin hated it.

"Well maybe if you stopped being such a stubborn little shit I wouldn't have to!"  

"Hmpf."

"Dammit, Mike!" and that was usually the end of that discussion. 

 

Apparently, Dustin had some other ideas this time. It was a Sunday afternoon when he showed up at Mike's basement unannounced, which wasn't really something weird anymore. Fighting monsters from another dimension and saving a friend from death and possession kind of ruined their sense of privacy and politeness. 

"You should apologize to Max," he said as he walked across the room and slumped on the couch. Mike made a disgusted, kind of offended face.

" _I'm sorry?_ " 

"No, not to me. To Max. Oh don't roll your eyes at me, you know what I'm taking about," Dustin scoffed.

"I really don't."

"Oh you know like, all that time you were mean to her? And refused to let her join our party?" Dustin glared at him from his spot on the couch. 

"Hm, I don't recall," Dustin just glared at him some more.

That was the part where Mike was supposed to admit that he was wrong. And no, that wasn't happening.

"No, listen! What was I supposed to do? You guys call her and spend  _one day_  hanging out with her and just decide that she should be in our party, what, just because she's cool or whatever?" he says, pacing around and waving his arms at Dustin. "That's not how it goes!"

Now there was a long pause where Dustin silently judged Mike for being a hypocrite while Mike deliberately avoided his accusatory glare. Dustin sighed.

"You did pretty much the same with-" Mike cuts him off.

"No. No! That was different! The whole situation with El was different and you know it!"

"Maybe so," Dustin shrugged, unimpressed. It's not like he didn't know Mike was going to try to use that as an excuse. "You were still being unnecessarily mean. Now El is back and everything is slowly going back to normal, more or less, so you can stop being a bitch to Max and apologize." 

"Wait what?" Mike guessed by the amused look on Dustin's face that he was completely red, but he was really too angry to care. "Wait. No. No, no, no."

"Breathe."

"Don't tell me what to do!" he took a deep breath. "El has nothing to do with this."

That seemed to be the last straw for Dustin, who was now also standing and looked ready to strangle him. "Oh _please_ , give me a break! We all know it has everything to do with El. You thought we were replacing her with Max, which is bullshit-"

"That's not true," Mike said, even though it was true, just like it was also true that he had been kind of jealous. That thought just made him feel more like a hypocrite, so he shoved it aside for now. "We couldn't tell Max about what actually happened to Will or about the Upside Down. Or El. Also, do you really think she would've believed us?"

"She believed Lucas," Dustin argued.

"Sure, after you guys shoved a Demogorgon in her face!" 

"A _Demodog_. And we didn't! She agreed to come." Dustin buried his hands in his hair. "Jesus, Mike! You're making this so much more difficult than it has to be." he sat on the couch again, gesturing at Mike to do the same. Sitting down was apparently the same as backing down for Mike, so he just stood there with his arms crossed. It was frustrating, Dustin just really wanted to have a civil conversation for once. "Would you please sit down?" 

Mike didn't move.

"Your loss," Dustin shrugged. "Okay. Listen-"

Mike rolled his eyes and then he was pacing again. He could recognize when Dustin knew he had a point and was winning, and at that moment he had that voice and posture. Then again, Dustin usually had a point, it was just that Mike was really good at bullshitting his way out of those discussions. But in this situation there was no way he was getting the last word. Dustin came here prepared and Mike had nothing on his side. 

Dustin threw a pillow at him.

"Oh my God, _do not_ roll your eyes at me and _listen_." he sighed, like he was preparing himself for giving a long lecture to a child. Mike supposed he was, in a way.

"How and why Max found out about everything is beside the point. The point is, you were an asshole, Max did nothing to deserve it and you gotta apologize because she _is_ in our party now. It's not even up for a debate, I'm here just because I think you should apologize for being bitchy," he saw Mike trying to disagree and cut him off. "Don't. What is your reason for not letting her in the group now? We all like her, she's cool, she actually likes us, so what's the problem? And don't say you don't like her, you're just being petty about it." That seemed to be the end of his speech, so Dustin relaxed and let Mike think.

Dustin was right, because of course he was. Max _was_ cool and funny and she fit in their small group almost too perfectly. So after the gate was closed and the world wasn't ending anymore, Mike had time to think and realize he did feel guilty about being mean to Max. He was also really good at ignoring his emotions which never ended up good but he didn't seem to learn from past mistakes. Now Dustin had him cornered and okay, he was being unnecessarily mean and stubborn and he had to apologize. Which meant looking at Max and seeing that smug smirk and dammit, she was never going to stop reminding him about it later. If he was being honest with himself he didn't actually mind it, which kind of surprised him.

"Dustin I-"

"Should apologize to Max. Yes, Mike. I'm so glad you figured it out. So glad we had this nice conversation and came to a mature conclusion for once," Dustin said. "See you tomorrow, I still have some homework to write." He stood up and made a beeline for the door.

"Dustin!"

"I'll see you tomorrow, Mike! Don't break anything!"

Mike groaned and finally sat on the couch. Max was their friend, he fucked up, he was wrong and he had to confront it, even if Max didn't hold it against him. There was an apology to make.

**Author's Note:**

> i knoow this is short and shitty but i needed to get this out of my system and i lost inspiration, so i guess im gonna write an actual apology soon, hopefully?
> 
>  
> 
> k im done, thanks for reading!!


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